Life-preserving swimming-jacket.



A BADGER.

LIFE PRESERVING SWIMMING JACKET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB 21; 1910.

Patented June 14, 1910. 1

anemia UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. 7

ALoNzo BADGER, or ocn mraax, mmsm, Assrenon. or ONE-HALF re nanaerm runzxr, or consent, camronnm.

Specification of Letters hatent. Patented June 14, 1910; Application filed February 21, 1910. Serial mi, 545,177;

' To all whom itmayeoowem:

Be it known that I, ALoNzo Banana, a

citizen of the United States, residing. at Oceanpark, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Life-Preserving Swimming- Jacket, ofivhich the following is a specification. a

It is the object of this .invention to provide in a merchantable, inexpensive and compact form, a garment soconstructed that it may readily as a life-preserver, so called.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the clas above mentioned which shall house securely against accigental injury the buoyant element of the once.

Another object of the invention isto dis-v pose the buoyant element of the device in a novel and improved form, in which its efliciency will be increased.

Another objectofthe invention is to strengthen the device at the point where the valve of the inflatable element protrudes through the vest portion of the device, and to house the valve.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, delineated in the drawings, and specifically claimed, it being understood that chan es, properly falling within the scope of wliat -is claimed, may be made, without de arting from the spirit of the invention.

gimilar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding arts throughout the several figures of the rawm s.

n the accompan 'n drawings,Figure 1 is a plan of my de v ic the same being laid flat, to expose the exterior surface thereof; Fig. 2 is a perspective-showin the front portion of the device, as applie Fi .3 is a fragmental transverse section of t e device, taken in the vicinity of the valve of the inflatable member, parts being shown in elevation; Fi 4 is a perspective showing the rear portion of the device, as applied;

and Fig. 5 is a fragmental plan, upon an enlarged scale, desi ed to show with particularit that portion of the device through whic the valve of the inflatable element protrudes.

The structure in which my invention is,

be secured about the body he donned, and inflated, to servein the present instance, embodied, comprises,

as a fundamental element, a vest, wh1ch in 'Fig. 1 of the drawin is denoted generally by the numeral 1. long the end edges of this vest 1, there are reinforcing strips 2, one of which is provided with a plurality of outstandin tongues 3, the other ofwhich is provid with buckles 4 adapted to receive the tongues 3, whereby the vest may of the wearer. Upon its lower edge, and at the back, the. vest 1 is split and overlapped, as denoted by the numeral 5, to rein orce the vest at that point. e

The vest may be fashioned of any desired material, and in any desired manner. In the present instance, it consists of an inner layer 6, and an outer layer 7, between which is disposed the buoyant, inflatable portion of the device. This buoyant element con sists, in the resent instance, o f a, flexible tube havin its ends Solosed, and dispoad upon thev ont ofthe vest 1, adjacent the upper edge of the vest. Thence, the inflatable element is extended beneath the armholes of the vest, as denoted by the numeral 9, and bent somewhat sharply upon itself in its intermediate portion, as shown atlO. This intermediate portion 10 is secured between the arm-holes of the vest, at the back thereof, and adjacent the upper edge of the vest, the preferred means for securing the inflatable element in place, being two lines of stzifiching 11, securing the layers 6 and 7 e .lhe arm-holes of the vest are defined bythe straps 12; Thesest'raps 12, like the vest proper, are multi-layer structures, one layer of which at its end is secured as denoted by the n'umera 14, betweenthe layers 6 and of the vest, at the rear thereof, the end of the other la er, as shown at 15, being extended upon t e exterior of the layer 7 of the vest.

The bent intermediate ortion 10 of the inflatable tube is provide with a valve 17, and this valve, as clearly'shown in Fig. 3, protrudes throu h the outer layer 7 of the vest. In order that the free end of the valve 17 may not come into contact with the body of the wearer of the device, the body portion of the vest, at its back, is upwardly extended as shown at 16, between the diver g straps 12. In order to house the valve 1 with the exception of its extremity, a patch 18 is mounted transversely upon the back of the vest adjacent the upper edge of the vest. This patch 18 is extended laterally to overlie the ends of the straps 12, and when the several parts are secured together by stitching, or other common means, it will be seen that this patch 18 constitutes, at once, a housing for the valve 17, and a means for securing the ends of the straps 12 upon the vest.

In practical operation, the vest is worn in the usual manner, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the garment being secured across the chest of the wearer by means of the buckle 4 and the tongue 3. Previous to putting on the vest, a common bicycle pump or the like is connected with the valve 17 and the tube is inflated, so that the same will cause the-outer layer 7 to outstand slightly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the tube nevertheless being adequately protected by the layers between which it is mounted, against accidental injury. When the device is in position, there will bean air reservoir extending, as shown at 20 in Fig. 2, in diverging lines across the chest of the wearer, and thence beneath his arms, to form the V shaped portion 19 terminating between the shoulder blades, as shown in Fig. 4.

Owing to the peculiar disposition given to the inflatable element, it will be seen that it will be impossible for the wearer thereof to assume a position in the water in which the entire device will be above the surface. Thus, if he is swimming upon his back, the V sha ed portion 19 will be immersed, and if he 1s swimming upon his side, one ofthe portions which are disposed beneath the arm-holes of the vest will be immersed. Likewise, when he is swimming upon his chest, the portion 20 will be immersed, and should he be standing upright, the entire device will be effective as a buoyant structure. The inflatable tube, which is the most delicate portion of the structure, is, as will be clearly seen from the drawings, securely housed between the constituent layers of the vest, unusual protection being given to that portion of the tube from which the valve 17 protrudes.

The construction of the device is such that it may readily be deflated at will, and may be readily inserted in a grip sack or trunk, taking up no more room than an ordinary garment. A 7

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is 1'. A device of the class described comprising a vest'having arm-holes, and securing devices upon its end edges; and a buoyant member extended beneath the arm-holes and having its ends prolonged up the front of the vest to points adjacent the upper edges thereof, the buoyant member being bent upon itself intermediate its ends, and having its bent portion secured between the armholes upon the back of the vest, adjacent the upper edge thereof.

2. A device of the class described comprisin a multi-layer vest having arm holes; an in atable tube disposed between the constituent layers of the vest and extended beneath the arm-holes, the tube having its ends prolonged up the front of the vest to points ad jacent the upper edge thereof, and having its intermediate portion sharply bent and disposed between the arm-holes upon the back of the vest, adjacent the upper edge thereof; and a valve located in the intermediate portion of the tube and arranged to protrude upon the exterior of the vest.

3. 'A device of the class described comprising a multi-layer vest having an inflatable element disposed between its constituent layers at the back of the vest and adjacent its upper edge; straps defining the arm-holes in the vest, and secured to the back thereof; a valve protruding from the inflatable element through the outer layer of the vest, the vest being prolonged between the straps to receive the free end of the valve; and a patch secured to the vest and constituting at once a housing for the valve, and a means for securing the strap ends.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALONZO BADGER.

Witnesses:

B. G. HURLBURT, C. A. LARSON. 

